Taylormade Stealth Vs Ping G430 Driver Comparison Overview

With the new Taylormade Stealth drivers, the company is claiming that the carbon age has arrived.

As you may already know, the new Stealth drivers represent a major shift in driver face construction as Taylormade used carbon fiber for the face instead of titanium or steel.

Ping’s latest line of drivers takes a more traditional approach. The Ping G430 line of drivers all feature forged titanium faces. We wanted to see how these drivers stacked up so we tested the Ping G430 Max against the Taylormade Stealth Plus driver. Let’s see how they compare.

Taylormade Stealth Driver Overview

“The Stealth Plus driver is most similar to the new Ping G430 drivers as it features a moveable track weight.”

The sliding track weight will help you dial in your optimal CG based on your swing. The Taylormade Stealth Plus also features a 460cc head and the carbon fiber face design that has turned so many heads in the golf world already.

The carbon face helps to save weight because it’s even lighter than titanium. This gives the Taylormade Stealth Plus a low CG that you can really feel on your downswing. It also gives this driver a unique feel and helps to reduce spin.

Medium-low spin coupled with the classic inertia generator produces a lot of distance. Our testers (averaging 94 MPH swing speeds) were able to knock the ball an average of 240.1 yards after three swings.

Ping G430 Driver Overview

“The Ping G430 Max features a 25-gram sliding track weight and a forged titanium face.”

We love the feel of forged titanium and in the case of the Ping G430 Max, it gives the driver a hot and responsive feel. Distance was almost the same as the Stealth Plus driver (238.8 yards on average) even as spin rates were a bit higher with the Ping G430 Max.

We attribute this to the lower launch angle that the Ping G430 Max produces. The face profile is a bit shallower than the Stealth Plus driver as well. While MOI wasn’t as high in the Ping G430 Max as it was in the Stealth Plus, the Ping G430 Max was more forgiving from side-to-side.

“The distance comparison is essentially a tie. The Ping G430 Max is more laterally forgiving while the Stealth Plus yields higher MOI. In the end, this will come down to a fitting as these two drivers are almost perfectly equally matched.”

Taylormade Stealth Driver – First Impressions

The Taylormade Stealth driver was impressive in almost every respect but we were really interested in testing our first carbon-faced driver.

For the most part, we weren’t disappointed. While it became clear fairly early on that the Taylormade Stealth driver was more for mid to low handicap players, it was awesome to experience something so fresh, new and most importantly, effective.

As you may expect from a Taylormade driver, the Taylormade Stealth features the famed speed pocket and a redesigned inertia generator that was upping the swing speeds of even our higher handicap testers (by 2-3 MPH).

The Stealth Family

The Stealth family includes the Stealth Plus and the Stealth HD drivers. The Stealth Plus is the only one in the line that features a sliding rear weight while the Stealth HD is the only one with internal draw bias.

Ping G430 Driver – First Impressions

“The Ping G430 drivers have a noticeably different design than previous Ping G drivers.”

The face has a more shallow profile yet the crown and sole have a more rounded design. Overall the Ping G430 drivers look really unique. They also have the signature “ping” sound at impact which is really satisfying and lets you know when you’ve struck the ball perfectly.

We were also impressed that all three drivers in the new line come with movable weights. This will help a wide array of players who are struggling against a draw or a fade. It’ll also help you put more power behind the area of the face that you tend to make contact with.

The adjustable loft sleeve will also help you dial these drivers in during fittings. Ping did a good job of upping the adjustability element of the new Ping G430 so that they appeal to a wider array of players. Unless you have a handicap in the 0-5 range, the new Ping G430 driver can benefit your long game in one way or another.

The Ping G430 Family

If you are a better player looking to squeeze more yards out of your drive with muted spin, the Ping G430 LST is definitely the driver for you. If you are a high handicapper, go with the Ping G430 Max. If you are struggling with accuracy off the tee, the Ping G430 SFT would benefit you most.

Taylormade Stealth Selling Points

Carbon face
Inertia generator
Extreme rear weighting
Adjustable hosel

Ping G430 Selling Points

Adjustable CG weights
Forged faces
All three models play hot
Titanium face
Adjustable hosels

Who is the Taylormade Stealth Driver for?

This driver would be amazing for any fast swing speed player looking for maximum distance.

The Taylormade Stealth took everything great about the SIM driver and amplified it by giving it a more reactive face.

Taylormade Stealth Drivers

The Standard Stealth driver is joined by the Stealth Plus and the Stealth HD drivers. The Stealth Plus is the only one in the family with a sliding rear weight while the Stealth HD is the only one with draw bias.

Distance: 97/100

Accuracy: 93/100

Forgiveness: 93/100

Feel & Control: 95/100

Taylormade Stealth Plus Driver

Overall Score: 95/100

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Who is the Ping G430 Driver for?

“With three unique models, the Ping G430 drivers will appeal to a wide variety of players.”

It would seem that the overarching goal for these drivers was to make them viable for all skill levels. For the most part, Ping succeeded at this. The only type of player that we can imagine that wouldn’t benefit from these drivers are scratch players. The Ping G430 drivers launch high and don’t allow for a whole lot of workability.

So if you are a really good player, you’re better off looking elsewhere for a new driver. That being said, the Ping G430 drivers are ideal for both mid and high handicappers looking for a good mixture of forgiveness and accuracy.

We love the new forged face design because it will help virtually any kind of player achieve better ball speeds. The Ping G430 drivers will be especially beneficial to players who need more lateral forgiveness from their driver.